By Brenda Fullick brenda@dmcityview.com

West Des Moines neighbors organize against potential road through Walnut Woods

As far as resident Tom Stull knows, West Des Moines residents had never been adequately fired up to create a neighborhood organization before. Des Moines has a long tradition of neighborhood organizations rallying to represent the citizenry on municipal matters, but West Des Moines residents apparently didn't think that was necessary.

Until now.

The new Raccoon River Neighborhood Association has been created because the city of West Des Moines is in the process of revamping its comprehensive plan, and nearby residents say they don't trust their city to make the best decisions benefiting the public good - or even to keep them informed about what's really going on.

The hot-button issue is a proposed extension of 35th Street southward, with a bridge across Raccoon River in Walnut Woods State Park. City planners say they're not necessarily ready to build a bridge there - and they may not be ready to build that bridge for years to come - but that the city has to set aside the land now, just in case it needs to route traffic through that area in the future.

The idea of a 35th Street extension was publicly discussed back in 2000, and city staff at the time notified local residents that the proposal was being considered. Neighbors rose up to oppose it, saying the city didn't need another bridge so close to Interstate-35. They said they didn't want to lose the area's quiet natural beauty. The proposal seemed to stall in committee meetings, and residents assumed the issue was over.

But this past winter, Tom and Danielle Stull got wind that the idea for a 35th Street extension was being resuscitated. Personally, the Stulls were upset because their historic home is directly in the path of that bridge. But when they started going door-to-door with their opinions and informational flyers, the Stulls quickly learned that other area residents were angry, too - partly because the city didn't keep them informed about plans for 35th Street this time around.

The Stulls are now the proud co-chairs of a bouncing baby neighborhood organization.

When West Des Moines' plan and zoning commission met May 24 to discuss adding a 35th Street bridge to the comprehensive plan, roughly 90 residents showed up to have their say, applauding each other for every comment. That meeting has been continued to June 21 at 7 p.m.

"You people have a problem," resident Mark Cullen told members of the plan and zoning commission. "Your problem is you don't have the respect of the people you're representing."

If it hadn't been for the Stulls, Cullen said, residents would have had no idea that the city is talking about widening the road in front of their houses. "Not once did you notify anyone."

Commission chairman John Clarke tells Cityview that it's not feasible for the city to notify residents of everything going on, though occasionally city staffers have made an extra effort to notify residents when they knew certain issues would be particularly controversial.

Information about city business is available online, and it's published in legal ads, Clarke says.

"Candidly, if you want to know, it's there, and it's easy to find it," he says. "It is incumbent on the citizenry to stay involved."

Just a line on a map

West Des Moines city employees and elected officials describe their comprehensive plan as a long-range planning tool to prepare for and shape the growth of the city. "Not only is it a guide for today, but it's a visionary guide for tomorrow," Clarke says.

Even if a 35th Street bridge is added to the comprehensive plan, it won't be built until the area south of the city is developed, he says. "This is just a line on a map."
"Although it's just a line on a map, it's our lives," Stull counters.

"What are we trying to achieve with this bridge?" resident Greg Stone asked the commission members. "What's the return on investment for what we're doing? Because ultimately, as taxpayers we're going to have to pay for it."

At the public meeting, several residents expressed fears that they'll be charged assessments to pay for a street that they neither need nor want - particularly when the construction and subsequent traffic would destroy the natural habitat with its eagles and other wild residents. Cindy Axne, for one, talked about natural lands throughout the United States being destroyed "for the good of the pockets of the developers."

Craig Pepper said he can't see how the city could justify construction of a bridge so close to I-35, especially when the city was already planning to build another bridge at 50th Street. "It's not like we need one every mile," he argued. "I just don't think there's a need for [a 35th Street bridge]. I don't trust the process, that we're going to get a fair shake on it."

Plan and zoning commissioners agree that one bridge at either 35th Street or 50th Street would probably be enough, commission member Sam Kreamer told the citizens. "We don't believe the traffic counts are going to be really high in that area."

Several residents expressed suspicions that certain well-connected developers might profit from this politically unpopular bridge at 35th Street. Clyde Evans, West Des Moines' city planner, said the bridge is being proposed to move traffic on city streets, without overburdening the state-owned roads.

"I don't know who the beneficiary developer will be," Evans tells Cityview. "The main intent is to preserve potential corridors" with the comprehensive plan. As the city develops in the future, options for road construction will disappear. If those corridors aren't preserved before the southern area is developed, he says, "We've lost the opportunity."

But resident Edward Soenke, an architect, talked publicly about the opportunity to save green space before it's destroyed forever. "You have an opportunity to keep what's good about West Des Moines," he told the commission. "Once you lose a place like Walnut Woods, you never get it back."

Epitaphs

Clarke says he doesn't expect the city to build the bridge for another 15 to 20 years, not until after the rural area sees enough development to warrant the bridge. However, he says the timing depends on the rate of construction. "If we have a robust economy and if we have significant development interest from companies, businesses, developers that are interested in developing in that area, that'll speed the crossing."

He says the plan and zoning commission has a responsibility to think not only of the Raccoon River neighbors, but also of what's best for the entire city. The commission has to consider what's best for that area, "but our job is really more global to the city."
Members of the neighborhood association are still gearing up in their fight against that controversial line on the map, and they plan to continue having their say, on June 21 and beyond.

One of their projects is a signature drive on a petition to save Walnut Woods. The group is accepting signatures from people who live throughout Iowa. "You don't have to live in our neighborhood to use that park and love that park," says co-chair Danielle Stull.

Resident Bill Trebilcock told the commission members that he can't imagine any of them wanting epitaphs on their tombstones saying that they wrote the rules that destroyed Walnut Woods.

Kreamer defended the honor of the volunteer board against the repeated criticisms, saying, "This commission has tried its best to do its very best every time out."

Stone asked the city representatives to share all of their information with the public. "Collectively, we'll help you make the right decision," he said. Then the commission members can go to sleep at night "knowing you haven't done anything behind our back." CV

For info on the citizens' group, e-mail
raccoonriverneighbors@yahoo.com.

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